Review of Westler

"Westler" or "East of the Wall" is a West German 95-minute movie from 1985, so already over 30 years old, and probably the most known work by writer and director Wieland Speck. The cast here is not really well-known, at least not by today's standards. The only name I recognized is Thomas Kretschmann and he only plays a very minor part. This is the story of a gay couple, one living in West Berlin, the other in East Berlin, so the only way to meet is in East Berlin with the guy from West Berlin being forced to return home every night. That's why the one from East Berlin plans to flee over the Wall. Okay, the story is not too bad either, but honestly I found the acting nothing special at all. I don't need actors to go over the top, but I need them to not come off as 100% boring and walking zombies basically, even if they are playing the most normal non-special characters. That's why I never really warmed up to the characters or their story. But the film is interesting from the perspective that this is a German movie about the GDR from the days when it still existed actually. Maybe you can even call it a bit of a propaganda film, even if to me it felt more like fact-based and not really having an intent to stir anything up. So as a whole the setting and situation were what made the film occasionally work for me, not really the characters or stories between them. Overall, it just wasn't enough for a positive recommendation and I give this one a thumbs-down. Watch something else instead.